Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.

I hate to sound stupid but my husband and I just started crabbing from our dock a few months ago and have been having fun catching fish and blue crabs from the dock. My only problem is, the water is so dirty and muddy looking, I wonder how safe it is to eat anything out of this brown, murky water? We live at the end of a canal off of Harbor Blvd and 41. I am worried as a few people asked us if it was safe to eat them? And some of the neighbors mentioned that they wouldn't eat anything out of these canals!

I eat from the canal and harbor every chance I get and have done so for 8 years.
Remember that the water is often much clearer in a jar than it appears to your eye.
Silty sea bottom reflected off sunlight give a darker than actual appearance.
Sandy bottoms appear much clearer and bluer, such as the area around Gasparilla Pass.
The other factor in our brackish sea water is tannin. Mangroves and other aquatic plant life give tannin compounds from their bark. Dead or dying woods give off excessive tannin.
While it is unpleasant to many eyes and can cause a tea-like temporary staining to your boat hull, it is not unsafe and certainly does not render seafood unsafe.

Enjoy the fresh fish and seafood from our natural resources. I can assure you it is far better for our bodies than ANYTHING in our grocers food case or freezer.

PS- when I make a slight mistake skinning my redfish, snook or trout, dockside, I recover that otherwise wasted meat as a thin slice of sashimi and it goes straight in my mouth. Yuuuuummmy! Also a fun way to freak out your guests. Fish on!

^^^ Everything said above. Nothing wrong with the fish & crabs whatsoever. Your water is brackish, as MA mentioned. Mix of salt & fresh water. Winter, without the rains, the water is a bit less brown, but summer, you can't see bottom in 2ft of water! But the fish still taste yummy!

Thank you so much, everybody, for making me feel much better about eating our beautiful crabs and fish. It sure does come in handy on a Social Security income to be handed several free meals per month!

Would be an tinge resting experiment to, say, take a week and commit to eating only what you catch on artificial lures...no catch = no eat. Could be a great weightless plan, either way. Would also force you to get better at fishing pretty fast!

I have been hearing great things about the Myan chiclids. My plan is to harvest some next visit and see how it is...

Also Striped Moharra (lots in our canal in the summer/fall) is delicious, and easy to catch...

Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.